There’s probably no holiday I look forward to more than Beaujolais Nouveau Day. It’s my favorite excuse to gather all my friends for a night of cheap wine and expensive cheese, and this year’s celebration was one of the best. All told, I think we managed to cram fourteen cheeses, eighteen wine bottles, and more than twenty friends into our tiny apartment. It was…

Yay for the weekend and upcoming holidays! We’re kicking off the season of celebration tonight with our annual (day after) Beaujolais Nouveau Day party. Cheap wine and lots of cheese are my idea of a perfect night, and I definitely look forward to this one all year long. Here are a few photos from past celebrations. While its a great night for cheap wine,…

As a belated birthday treat, the Mister planned a long-weekend escape to the Sonoma Valley. The weekend was hot and dry, the sort of weather that forces you to slow down, drink slowly, and find quiet, shady hillsides to enjoy a cool bottle of wine and each other. Sonoma was heaven. Just my pace and everything I felt I’d been missing. This week, I’ll…

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I had fun making Shutterbean’s candied citrus peel. One of the happy byproducts of the candying process is a jar of bright citrus syrup, perfect for making cocktails. The abundance of amazing citrus is the best part of winter, and this syrup, mixed with a little sparkling wine and a sprig of rosemary, made for a perfect cold…

Last Friday, the Mister and I invited our good friends over to celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day. It’s our favorite excuse for a party and this is the fourth year that we’ve hosted. Over the course of about six hours, we welcomed around twenty friends, shared fourteen bottles of beaujolais nouveau, and devoured ten kinds of cheese, two kinds of charcuterie, and one large block…

I haven’t been feeling great lately and with the gloomy weather, I was in need of a little pick me up. What could be more comforting than a little mug of hot chocolate? Rather than a packet of cocoa and hot water, I was in the mood for something more indulgent. I like the French approach to hot chocolate: very rich and thick with…

As I mentioned yesterday, the Mister is a bourbon man. Years ago, when we were first dating, he asked me to go away with him for a long weekend to explore the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. I wasn’t much of a bourbon drinker, but I love going anywhere new and Kentucky sounded like as good as any place. It was breezy and overcast, and as…

The Mister is a bourbon drinker; has been for as long as I have known him. In terms of flavor, he likes that its sweeter, smokier and bolder than, say, scotch, another high quality whiskey. Philosophically, he likes that bourbon is American-made, both in product and in process. Not being imported helps keep the price reasonable, but more than that, he finds it endearing…